


Habits

by Elektra Pendragon (elekdragon)



Series: Mac/Renny [3]
Category: Dark Visions - L. J. Smith
Genre: M/M, Smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-02
Updated: 2006-12-02
Packaged: 2017-10-16 00:41:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/166610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elekdragon/pseuds/Elektra%20Pendragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John needs a cigarette. Badly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Habits

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: implied younger man/older man pairing.

John wasn't like most other people. Renny kept close to him, enough that he could feel the heat of his skin if the concentrated, but he never brushed against the other boy. It was rare that John allowed Renny to touch him. He seemed to sense when Renny was near, and adjust his step before their skin could ever come in contact. When John fell back from the rest of the psychics, Renny slowed down too, following as he sank back against the wall. The bright lights of the mall glittered and beckoned, but John didn't step any closer, choosing instead to hug the grey-blue shadows outside the doors. The others didn't bother to notice that John and Renny weren't following; they simply kept walking, intent on each other and their future purchases.

John smoked. A lot. During those moments when he wasn't smoking, or if he couldn't smoke, he'd chew on his fingernails, gnawing the ends like an animal trying to escape a trap. Before they got in the car, Renny had watch John snuff out the final cigarette in the pack, and since Joyce had been driving, she wouldn't allow him to go anywhere that would sell him more. She even made sure he left the ever-present lighter in the car. The mall held many stores, but none of them would have the one thing he wanted. John's teeth closed around the torn end of his index finger with a click, and he began to worry the shorn stub of a nail..

The noise of teeth on nail scratched in the air, like a rat in a wall. Renny couldn't suppress the shiver that started at his ears and bled down his spine. The noise was haunting, eerie, following him even when John wasn't near. There were times when Renny wanted to pull his hand away from his mouth to force it to stop, but he still feared what John might do. Renny was still a little freaked from the weird incident in testing the week before, when John had fallen into an out-of-body trance, and was roughly shaken out of it. He was afraid to touch John sometimes--not afraid of what John might do, but afraid that he might hurt the older boy.

John wasn't like other people. Renny knew all about being different--he'd been making glasses explode and chairs slide across the floor since before he could walk--but John was different even in a house full of freaks. He didn't talk like other people, or act like them. Renny was constantly caught off his guard, not knowing what to say or do around him. He was slowly learning how to become something like friends with the other psychics, but there were times that Renny knew--just KNEW--that John was barely tolerating his presence.

Just then, John was off in his little world of jagged fingernails and glittering streetlights, ignoring Renny as he shifted from foot to foot, trying to figure out what to do. He knew he could go inside and leave John to his silent pining, but the boy was a stronger lure than new video games and a graphics card for his laptop. Renny finally decided to stay, but before he could settle against the wall next to John, the other boy straightened, suddenly stalking off into the night. Renny jogged to catch up, his shorter legs working hard to keep up with the long, determined stride. John moved in a straight line across the parking lot, zeroing on some target Renny could only guess at.

The target, it turned out, was a young man standing in the glow of the docking door lights. He was dressed all in black, his clothes artfully ragged. Renny couldn't tell if his paleness was natural or some kind of makeup. His eyes were dark, glittering smudges in the sickly yellow light. Small metal spikes on a black collar circled his thin neck tightly.

John didn't slow his stalking pace until he was very near the young boy. Oddly, the stranger didn't seem to be afraid or disturbed by John like most people, and he returned the cold, hard glare of those grey eyes with a lightly amused smile. Without breaking eye contact, the boy brought a thin brown cigarette up to his lips.

"Got any more?" John's rough voice was soft, but hungry.

The stranger smiled wider, flashing white crooked teeth. He pursed the end of the cigarette between his lips as his long, pale hands fluttered down his clothes. He patted around dramatically until he produced a small crumbled box. Checking inside, the boy answered, "I only have three left." His eyes roamed John's body, and Renny saw something familiar in the roving gaze. Using just the tips of his forefinger and thumb, the stranger extracted a single, long cigarette from the box.

John fairly snatched it from his hand, licking his lips a second before he placed the unfiltered end between them.

Now, a normal person, even a psychic freak, would have asked for a light, but John? Simply stared.

Finally, the dark-smudged gaze turned to Renny, the smile still sweetly pleasant. His fingers drew the cigarette from his mouth before he spoke. "Your friend is very rude, isn't he?"

"You just have to get used to him," Renny defended, stepping a little closer to John.

The boy's eyes shifted back to the expectantly distant psychic. "I'm sure." He still didn't make a move to offer John his lighter. The stranger seemed more amused than angry or annoyed by John's rough approach. He returned the look haughtily, exaggerating his moves as he inhaled another lungful of smoke. He all but dared John to make the first move.

"I'm Renny," he blurted, wanting to break the deadlock between the two young men. The hazy eyes lazily turned back to Renny. "Um. He's John. We're here with some friends."

Renny's nervous stammerings seemed to be even more amusing to the boy than John's silent glare. The boy put one hand on his hip and turned a bit away from John, ignoring him. John, for his part, stared at the wall, the cigarette dangling from his mouth as his fingers pinched the inside of his wrist. The black spots of the boy's nails glittered in the sallow light as he traced the edge of his spiked collar. "I'm Fido. And I'm waiting for a friend."

"Fido?"

The boy shrugged. "It's what they call me." He dumped his still-lit cigarette on the ground, the red tip glowing hotly as it rolled a few inches down the incline. His fingers fished inside the cigarette package. He pulled out the last two cigarettes and dropped the box on the ground. "You want one?"

Renny shrugged, but took the thin brown cigarette when offered. Fido deftly plucked his lighter from his tight jeans and flicked his thumb over the wheel. The long yellow flame make his fingers glitter like his eyes. Before he could bring the light to his cigarette, John reached out and snatched his wrist. The movement was so quick, Renny could hardly believe John had moved. Fido pulled against the grip, but John was strong. He pulled the boy forward just enough to bury the tip of his cigarette in the flame. Light smoke curled out around the brown cigarette, and John released Fido just as suddenly as he had grabbed him.

Renny was in shock. John never touched anyone if he could avoid it, and here he was grabbing a total stranger. "I-- I'm sorry--" Renny started to apologize for John, but Fido's laughter drowned out his words.

The boy had lost his cigarette in the short scuffle, and he held his wrist in his left hand, but he laughed like Renny had never heard before. "He's not rude, he's barbaric!" Fido didn't sound annoyed, as he continued to giggle. "You could have just asked, honey. I don't mind."

Before Renny could think to ask for some kind of explanation from either of the crazy people in front of him, a car horn sounded loudly behind them. Renny jumped, but Fido giggled. "Oh! There's my ride." He jogged past them, but stopped to call back, "I'm usually around here if you guys ever want to hang out." The car horn honked again, and Fido ran to catch it. Renny watched as he slid into the passenger seat next to an older man in his thirties. The boy leaned across the drivers seat, and even in the low light of the parking lot Renny could see every detail as he passionately kissed the older man. The man hooked a finger in the collar and quickly took control of the embrace.

Renny felt a burst of something like pain in his lower belly, and his heart suddenly raced as he watched the two men briefly make out in the front seat of the car. They finally broke apart, and with a final wave Fido was gone.

Renny turned back to find that John hadn't even watched the boy leave. The other boy was leaning against the stairs that lead up to the big dock doors. He blended in with the shadows there, his dark hair almost obscuring the red burn of embers.

Being with John was like a constant trip to the twilight zone. The young man seemed to draw strangeness to him, or simply wear it like a cloak. Distantly, Renny realized he was still holding the unlit cigarette in hand. He looked around for some place to put it.

"Ever tried one?" The deep, rough voice was always a surprise to hear. John sounded different when he talked to Renny alone. Sometimes he even used complete sentences.

"No, never thought about it," he answered, and immediately winced at the way it made him sound. It wasn't that he was a goody-goody; he had just never hung out with kids that smoked. Before John, he couldn't remember ever thinking that he might actually enjoy the stale smell in his clothes, the way ash seemed to coat his skin when John was near. Now he couldn't rightly imagine going without it.

John crooked his finger, and Renny gamely stepped forward. "Light off mine." John placed the cigarette back in his mouth and lifted his head. Renny held his own out in front of him, pointing it towards John's face. John turned his head away before he got close with it. "No, you gotta suck on it," he said between his teeth.

Feeling clumsy and foolish, Renny put the thing to his mouth. The paper stuck to his dry lips. John tilted his head, ducking down enough to make it easy for Renny to reach. His cheeks flushed hotly as he leaned close, the image of Fido and the older man kissing flashing into his head. He wanted to put his hands on John's shoulders to steady himself, to stop the trembling in his fingers as he awkwardly maneuvered the end of his cigarette to John's mouth.

He could barely make out the red glow when John inhaled as the ends touched. Renny sucked on the cigarette like he was trying to drink a triple-thick shake, and his mouth filled with spicy, thick smoke. John tilted his head back, enough to reach up and remove the stub from his mouth. "Breathe," he commanded before a funnel of smoke poured out of his lips.

Renny felt light-headed as he breathed in through his mouth, drawing the thick smoke down into his lungs. Almost instantly he pulled the cigarette away from his mouth, gasping for a hiccup of fresh air. His mind swam like he'd been holding his breath too long, and he exhaled. It wasn't easy to expel the smoke from his lungs. It was heavy and clung to the walls of his throat. At first he couldn't even see his breath in the warm night air. It felt like he had to use all the muscles in his chest to finally push the spicy smoke from his mouth. A weak, pale ghost dissipated before his eyes.

"You just have to get used to it."

Renny fondled the cigarette between his fingers, but he didn't take another drag. It was much better to just watch the graceful dance as John's breath climbed towards the stars.


End file.
